Georgy Bovt Why the author of the sabotage to Nord Stream is not so important anymore About why this story is almost forgotten 19.06.2023, 08:44

The history of sabotage on three of the four lines of Nord Stream gas pipelines is now only interesting from the point of view of information manipulation. How should it be done? Because everything bad that can happen to gas pipelines has already happened to them. “They drowned.” No one is really going to bring them back, more than ten billion dollars of investment is buried at the bottom of the Baltic Sea (have never seen anything like it). No one in Europe will return to previous Russian pipeline gas purchase volumes, this market is lost in the near future and perhaps forever.

And now, when the importance of restoring the pipe is a thing of the past, information disclosures are pouring in. They do not give the impression of accidental leakage. Rather, we are talking about a kind of knowledge games of special services for purely political purposes.

Many Western media, including immediately prominent American publications, appeared last summer allegedly trying to deter the CIA from sabotaging the Kiev gas pipeline. The hint that Kiev was preparing such a sabotage was received by the American intelligence services from Dutch intelligence. According to this version, in June Ukraine allegedly canceled its original plan, followed by an order to “relieve” from Langley. Apparently, it’s early. The plan was just changed and implemented in September. According to the current statement of the Western media, it was prepared under the leadership of the Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny and President Zelensky was not involved in it. Of course, denials that Ukraine was involved in the sabotage immediately came from Kiev. President Zelensky personally issued a refutation, stating that, firstly, he would know that such acts were being prepared, and secondly, that he would never approve of them.

This kind of information presentation is reminiscent of how the Western media covered the internal political struggle in Russia in the 90s: when some unpleasant events occurred for the West, a reservation was often made that President Yeltsin was not personally involved in it, but that’s all, bad it is the result of the intrigues of notorious silovoki and other reactionaries.

In this regard, the image of Zelensky, which took shape in the West after the beginning of the military conflict in Ukraine, has not yet been and is unlikely to be damaged by this story. It remains an ally and will remain “his”.

At the political level, debate continues in some European countries over whether Ukraine could technically carry out such a complex sabotage with the help of less than a dozen divers and a rather modest yacht. This skepticism is shared by many in Russia. Here, it seems, also affects a purely psychological moment: It’s much easier to admit that the gas pipeline was blown up by the sneaky, powerful, and ubiquitous American special services than it is to admit that a handful of Ukrainian special forces actually did. amateur level

Earlier, during the investigation conducted in the European media by several countries at once, it was revealed that the main version is the version of the so-called Ukrainian track. But at the same time, there has been sensitive talk so far about a kind of “pro-Ukrainian group” that has no direct relationship with the country’s official authorities and is supposed to act with a base in Poland. Now they say it’s not a “pro-Ukrainian group” but a Ukrainian group.

At the same time, it would be naive to expect European capitals and Washington to formally condemn such actions against a critical infrastructure facility that is not solely owned by Russia’s Gazprom.

For many reasons. First, these are “our” actions, so it is absolutely unacceptable to criticize an ally in the middle of hostilities. Second, it is also naive to believe, based on our common simplified interpretation, that Kiev is a blind puppet in the hands of the United States and is acting only at its behest. This is wrong. Even America’s most loyal allies have a certain leeway in making their own decisions. Third, and most importantly, the version distributed today may not have a direct relation to reality. And its main purpose is to informationally interrupt the version of the American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, published a few weeks ago, that the sabotage was carried out by the American intelligence services with the support of one of the northern intelligence services. European countries, but directly by order of Joe Biden.

Now the CIA is sending some kind of signal to Moscow: they say we are not, they are all Ukrainians, we follow certain rules of the game and we advise you to do the same, but not this … this, they say, is now Moscow’s transatlantic cables carrying internet traffic There is freedom to attack, including. In the US, there is clearly a different idea of ​​who is “hands off” for what.

However, Hirsch’s version, which is based solely on the story of one anonymous source, appears to be just as fact-based as the current “Ukrainian” version. However, this is basically no longer important.

Separately, it is worth noting the position of Germany, which has been calmly reacting to the news that Ukraine, whose military support for Berlin has increased in recent months, allegedly stabbed the FRG in such a “backstab”. Since German companies have invested heavily in the gas pipeline. How come Berlin doesn’t at least give its own condemnation of Kiev under these circumstances? – some are naively angry. In fact, what happened was in Berlin’s hands, as it saved him from making his own very difficult political choice and deciding to ultimately refuse to supply gas via Nord Stream.

At that time there was still quite a fierce struggle between the two factions on this issue in Germany. One demanded a definitive severance of relations with Russia and a complete cessation of Russian gas imports. The latter feared that the German economy would be irreparably damaged as a result, and therefore it was necessary to act gradually and cautiously. Sabotage resolved this conflict: no pipes – no problems. The adaptation of the German economy to the new conditions is far from going according to the worst-case scenario. Therefore, the cautious Chancellor Scholz can even thank Zelensky (that is, not him, but supposedly Zaluzhny) for saving him from the torture of political elections.

In this case, the most important thing is how to use a technique common in information manipulations, which can be conditionally called “screeching a fan.”

According to this technique, when one or more resonant events occur, then simultaneously or sequentially, one after another, all sorts of versions of what happened fall into the minds of the townspeople, from delusional to quite plausible. As a result, complete confusion is created in the minds of the layman, since the versions are presented as equivalent and supposedly have the right to exist as equals. In the end, the unfortunate layman who is tired of understanding these versions (mentally independent exercises, and even against the mainstream, is often no longer honored) concludes that nothing is clear here, that we will never know the truth. that criminal and real customers will never be found and the subject is clear, the subject is vague.

Afterwards, the interest in this event, no matter how dramatic it may seem at first, inevitably fades and leaves the front pages of the leading media outlets. In fact, already, unlike September of last year, the presentation of a new “Ukrainian version” of sabotage has moved from the front pages to the background and even to the third.

Then one day, ten years from now, perhaps even the true version of what happened will be published, and even the names and surnames of those involved in this sabotage will be revealed. However, this will not be of interest to anyone but narrow researchers of political processes. In fact, that was exactly what US Secretary of State Colin Powell claimed, as everyone remembers, by waving some test tubes at the UN, claiming that Saddam Hussein’s regime was developing weapons of mass destruction. This was one of the reasons why the USA invaded this country. But when things calmed down and Saddam Hussein himself was finished, it turned out to be a complete staging. However, this train has already departed and the platform has been swept. So it will be now.

The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the editors’ position.